Method and apparatus for enabling an application to detect specified circumstances

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided that may be utilized to detect occurrence of one or more specified circumstances. A determination may be made as to whether one or more specified circumstances are detected such as responsive to one or more user actions or an occurrence of an event unrelated to a user. One or more binary digital signals may be generated to store a detection of one or more specified user circumstances in a log or memory at least partially in response to detection of the one or more specified circumstances.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/368,455, filed Dec. 2, 2016, the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a method, system, orapparatus for enabling an application to detect circumstances for a userof a mobile device.

2. Information

There is a wealth of information collected from users of mobile devices,e.g., on a daily basis. For example, a mobile device, such as asmartphone, may have an ability to periodically estimate its location orposition such as via receipt of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals.A mobile device may be in periodic communication with various entitiessuch as a base station for cellular phone service, or via some othertype of access point or server, such as to obtain Internet access. Amobile device may also include an accelerometer from which movementinformation relating to the mobile device may be determined, as well asother sensors that may, for example, determine orientation, location,temperature, altitude, or barometric pressure.

Certain recurring conditions may be present when a user-undertakescertain actions, such as driving home using a particular route afterwork. Such recurring conditions may be observed or detected and may beutilized to predict or influence user behavior.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Claimed subject matter is particularly pointed out and distinctlyclaimed in the concluding portion of the specification. However, both asto organization and/or method of operation, together with objects,features, and/or advantages thereof, it may best be understood byreference to the following detailed description if read with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for communication between a mobile deviceand a first server and a second server according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a process for an application developer to specifycircumstances to be detected on a mobile device of a user according toan embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a process for an observation engine to monitor amobile device to detect an occurrence of one or more specifiedcircumstances according to an embodiment.

Reference is made in the following detailed description to accompanyingdrawings, which form a part hereof, wherein like numerals may designatelike parts throughout to indicate corresponding and/or analogouscomponents. It will be appreciated that components illustrated in thefigures have not necessarily been drawn to scale, such as for simplicityand/or clarity of illustration. For example, dimensions of somecomponents may be exaggerated relative to other components. Further, itis to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized. Furthermore,structural and/or other changes may be made without departing fromclaimed subject matter. It should also be noted that directions and/orreferences, for example, such as up, down, top, bottom, and so on, maybe used to facilitate discussion of drawings and/or are not intended torestrict application of claimed subject matter. Therefore, the followingdetailed description is not to be taken to limit claimed subject matterand/or equivalents.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference throughout this specification to “one example”, “one feature”,“an example”, or “a feature” means that a particular feature, structure,or characteristic described in connection with the feature or example isincluded in at least one feature or example of claimed subject matter.Thus, appearances of the phrase “in one example”, “an example”, “in onefeature” or “a feature” in various places throughout this specificationare not necessarily all referring to the same feature or example.Furthermore, particular features, structures, or characteristics may becombined in one or more examples or features.

There is a wealth of information collected from users of mobile devices,e.g., on a daily basis. For example, a mobile device, such as asmartphone, may have an ability to periodically estimate its location orposition such as via receipt of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals.A mobile device may be in periodic communication with various entitiessuch as a base station for cellular phone service, or via some othertype of access point or server, such as to obtain Internet access. Themobile device may maintain a log of its current or past locationestimates, or may transmit such information to a networked device, suchas a server.

A log or store of current and/or past location estimates for a mobiledevice may be utilized to make or infer one or more observations about auser of a mobile device. For example, accelerometer or gyroscope sensordata for a user may indicate that the user is running or standing. An“observation,” as used herein, may refer to a detectable characteristicof a user. For example, if a mobile device of a user is associated witha particular location estimate at a particular time of day, anobservation may be that the user was at the particular location estimateat the particular time of day. An observation may be determined atperiodic time intervals, such as every 30 minutes, for example. In anembodiment, an observation may additionally or alternatively bedetermined if a location estimate for a user has stopped changing, suchas if the user has been at a particular location, such as a homelocation, or work location, for a particular length of time.Observations may be determined based on various activities performed bya user, such as via the user's mobile device. For example, identities ofvarious applications used by the user, such as an email application, aFacebook™ application, or an alarm clock application, to name just a fewexamples among many, may be observed. A category of an application usedmay comprise an additional observation. Similarly, times of day at whichvarious applications were used and lengths of time by which the variousapplications were used may additionally or alternatively be observed.Accelerometer measurements, such as to indicate that a user is or waswalking, driving, riding on a train, or jumping, for example, may beobserved. A manner in which accelerometer measurements are observed,such as whether the measurements indicate that a user is or was drivingparticularly aggressively, quickly, or slowly, may be observed. Thereare potentially unlimited types of observations which may be made abouta user of a mobile device, for example. In an embodiment, observationsmay additionally or alternatively be made about a user that areunrelated to any particular mobile device used by the user, such as anexternality.

An “externality” as used herein refers to an event, occurrence, orlocation external to a computing device, such as a mobile device or auser of the mobile device. For example, an externality may beindependent of an action or location of a mobile device or a user of themobile device. An externality, as used herein, may refer to a presenceof a concert event, an event at an enclosed space, weather, traffic, orother news event, to name a few examples.

A mobile device may execute or run one or more applications at a giventime. A particular application may monitor or otherwise track variousobservations made about a user or about the user's mobile device. Forexample, a mobile device may implement an application comprising anobservation engine to monitor whether certain circumstances have beendetected, achieved, or otherwise met.

A “circumstance,” as used herein, refers to a status or conditionindicative of a detection of particular event, condition, or action. Forexample, a circumstance may be an action performed by a user or onbehalf of the user, such as by a mobile device of the user. Examples ofa circumstances may include a determination that the user has used aparticular rideshare application now or in the past, the user iscurrently located at a particular concert hall, the user just left aparticular big-box store, or the user has visited the same coffee shopfor three consecutive days, for example. Additional examples ofcircumstances are discussed below.

An “observation engine,” as used herein, refers to an on-device softwaredevelopment kit (SDK) which detects an occurrence of certaincircumstances. For example, an observation engine may be added to or maycomprise a portion of an application program. In one particularembodiment, an observation engine may comprise executable code orinstructions which, if executed, may notify an application program towhich it is integrated or of which otherwise forms a portion, to notifythe application program of an existence of certain circumstances orconditions which may be predetermined, predefined, or otherwisespecified prior to execution or implementation of the applicationprogram. For example, upon detection of certain circumstances, a signalmay be generated or a state may otherwise be changed to inform theapplication of an existence of the circumstances.

A “software development kit” or “SDK,” as used herein refers to a codelibrary that is compiled into an application program. An SDK may beadded or appended to an application before the application is compiled.

An “application” or “application program,” as used here refers to aprogram or executable code to perform a group of coordinated functions,tasks, or activities, for example. In one embodiment, an application mayinitially be programmed and then an SDK may be compiled into theapplication. The application may subsequently be compiled with the SDKand may be made available for installation or download by end users. Inone embodiment, an application may be accessed, downloaded, or otherwiseretrieved via an application database or “app store,” for example.

An “app store,” as used herein, refers to a repository from which one ormore applications may accessed, downloaded, or otherwise retrieved. Inone embodiment, an app store may be accessed via a network, such as theInternet, and an application may be downloaded by an end user forinstallation on a device of the end user, such as a cellular or smartphone, a computer, such as a desktop or laptop, or any other type ofcomputing device, such as a mobile device or a stationary device.

In one particular example, an observation engine may detect anoccurrence of certain circumstances, such as (a) if a device enters aStarbucks on foot during the morning commute; (b) if the device leavesits owner's work location by car during work hours; or (c) if the deviceis transported into a rock concert at a small venue in Hollywood, Calif.

Circumstances may be defined by application developers using anauthoring tool. For example, an authoring tool may be separate from anapplication program comprising an SDK for implementing an observationengine. In one embodiment, circumstances may be uploaded to or pushed toan observation engine via an over-the-air (OTA)-type of system.

An observation engine may be utilized to make specified circumstancesactionable. In an example, an observation engine may make a callback toa developer's application or invoke a particular function if a specificset of circumstances is detected or otherwise met. For example, adeveloper's application may be executed or run by the same mobile deviceexecuting or running an observation engine. A developer's applicationmay perform some type of action in response to receiving a callback froman observation engine. For example, if a developer's applicationcomprises a ridesharing application, an observation engine may generateand transmit a callback to the ridesharing application if certaincircumstances are detected or met, such as a user is exiting a movietheater after having been inside the movie theater for two hours,presumably attending a movie showing. In an example, if thecircumstances are detected, the ridesharing application may prompt theuser to send a message to hail an automobile ride home.

In an embodiment, a developer's application may determine whether auser's visits to Starbucks™ are common. If so, the developer'sapplication may prompt the user to determine whether the user would likehis or her coffee to be pre-ordered through a Starbucks™ Applicationprogram interface (API) in the future. In an example where acircumstance comprises any time a mobile device leaves its owner's worklocation by car during work hours, a developer's application may checkfor a local food point of interest en route, if, e.g., the egress occursduring lunch hour.

An application or product may be paired with an observation engine todiscover a correlation of desired outcomes to circumstances.Alternatively, the observation engine may discover user correlations byitself. Accordingly, a secondary task of an observation engine may be tocollect attribution data.

An SDK interface for a mobile device may be idiomatically consistentwith a platform on which it operates or sits, such as iOS™ or Android™.An observation engine may leverage default operating system libraries,which are intended to solve overlapping problems, as appropriate. Forexample, on iOS™, existing Significant Changes and Standard Locationservices may be utilized instead of custom ones in an embodiment. Onegoal is to take advantage of code that is relatively continuallymaintained and improved by a platform developer, such as Apple™.

In accordance with an embodiment, it may be relatively simple and easyto install and configure an observation engine. Such installation mayfollow a platform's best practices, such as CocoaPods™.

For ease of installation, a footprint may be kept small. For example, aparticular ceiling, such as 1 MB or less of code may be utilized toimplement an observation engine.

An observation engine may utilize OTA updates to ensure that a latestcompatible version of the observation engine is being utilized on amobile device. By using OTA updates, one may ensure that instances of anobservation engine in the field are configured consistently, such aswithin approximately 24 hours of any update, for example.

An authoring or programming environment to describe or indicatecircumstances of interest may be separate from an SDK of an applicationinstalled on a user's mobile device. For example, a programmer mayremotely describe or indicate circumstances of interest or may remotelydetermine certain directives such as to indicate whether a particularfunction is to be invoked at least partially in response to detection ofone or more specified circumstances.

An OTA update may transmit or send rules or directives “over the air,”such as via a connection to the Internet or another network to theapplication. Rules or directives may be authored for various differentcircumstances. Rules or directives may inform a host device of whetherand/or when to perform a specified action in response to detection ofspecified circumstance.

An SDK of an application may collect or gather information or data ofinterest, may store this information in a log of a memory, and mayinitiate transmission of the logged information to a database or datastore for further analysis, such as by a developer of an application inwhich the SDK is utilized. An SDK may also inform a host applicationupon detection of specified circumstances, based on various rules ordirectives relating to the specified circumstance, so that, e.g., thehost application may perform a specified action or invoke a specifiedfunction.

In one embodiment, an SDK may determine or make its own decisions inresponse to detection of specified circumstances. For example, adecision may be based, at least in part, on a machine learning process.Certain benefits may be realized, for example, if directives are updatedperiodically and an SDK has an ability to make its own decisionsregarding responses to detection of specified circumstances.

In one embodiment, directives or rules relating to certain specifiedcircumstances may be periodically transmitted or sent to a mobile deviceto test or determine which actions in response to detection of thespecified circumstances resulted in an interesting response by a user.For example, if a relatively high percentage of users leave feedback inresponse to a prompting based on detection of specified circumstances,the action of prompting the user to leave feedback may be considered aninteresting response, which may be incorporated into future directives,for example.

For example, specified circumstances may relate to a restaurant-findingapplication. Analysis of logged user responses to prompts based ondetection of circumstances may be performed to identify circumstanceswhere a user is more likely to respond to being prompted. One example ofa circumstance, would be if a user is at a restaurant, leaving therestaurant, or where the user has been at home at least 20 minutes, butwas at a restaurant 3 hours ago. An example response to detection of auser circumstance may be to initiate a pop-up message to ask whether theuser would like to review the restaurant and analyze whether the useractually writes a review.

An OTA update may also or alternatively be performed to update a mannerin which circumstances are detected. For example, if a user is walking,the user's act of walking may be detected based on a frequency at whichthe user's phone is moving up and down, such as if the phone is in auser's pocket and can detect whether a pattern of sensor outputresembles a human movement such as via a regular periodic fashion. If,however, a similar or the same sensor output may be detected by the userriding on a bike with the phone, the manner in which the circumstancesare detected may be updated to distinguish between a user walking and auser riding a bike. An update regarding the manner in which thecircumstances are detected may, e.g., be pushed to a user's mobiledevice via an OTA update.

Radio access may be utilize undesirably large amounts battery power, andmay require available service. Accordingly, an observation engine asdiscussed herein may behave independently of a network connection. In anembodiment where a network connection may be required, an observationengine may utilize intelligent ways to manage or minimize failure.

An observation engine may provide application developers with a degreeof latitude regarding tuning across battery consumption, accuracy, andlatency, for example. If a developer wants to ship a power-hungryapplication in an appropriate way (such as a turn-by-turn directionapplication), an observation engine may be configured to fit such aprofile. Conversely, if a developer wants as small of a power usageprofile as possible, that goal may also be achieved.

An observation engine may leverage circumstances based on various items,such as (a) activities, such as arriving or leaving; (b) locations, suchas whether a user is at a particular category of place; (c) events, suchas a type of event occurring where a user is currently located; (d)mobility, such as whether a user is walking or driving; or (e) temporalrelationships, such as whether a user is coming, going, how long theuser has been there, or a statistical likelihood that the user willleave within the next 5 minutes, and so forth.

A software development kit for an application may require services for:(a) place-attachment, such as to accurately determine where a user is,with a low false positive rate; (b) activity detection, such as lowlatency and a high accuracy determining of method of transit (forexample, this may also encapsulate higher-level activities like “retailshopping” or “exercising”); (c) state, such as the last place where auser was attached and a corresponding dwell time.

An interface may be callback-based, as discussed previously above. Aparticular model is activity detection (which may encompass both placeattachment and event detection). At startup of activity detection,monitoring for particular circumstances may be initiated. If there is apositive hit such that circumstances are detected, the event may belogged, and a developer's application may be alerted to a fact that anevent log has a new entry.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for communication between a mobiledevice 105 and a first server 110 and a second server 115 according toan embodiment. A user may be associated with mobile device 105. Mobiledevice 105 may include a transmitter 120, receiver 125, processor 130,and memory 135, to name just a few among many possible components orelements of the mobile device 105. Memory 135 may store instructionsexecutable by processor 130 and may also store other informationrelating to mobile device 105, such as an identifier (ID) of the mobiledevice 105 or an estimated location of the mobile device 105. Forexample, processor 130 may estimate a location of mobile device 105. Forexample, an estimated location of the mobile device 105 may includelatitude/longitude coordinates for the mobile device 105 or coordinatesbased on some other coordinate system or convention.

An application comprising an SDK may estimate a location of a mobiledevice on which the application is run by itself (client-side). Byhaving an ability to estimate a location of a mobile device anapplication may be reasonably insulated against network failures, mayoperate in a more battery-efficient manner (e.g., by not pinginglocation servers on a periodic or regular basis), and may also behaveintelligently with a relatively high level of privacy (e.g., because alocation estimate for the mobile device does not have to be sent to aserver). An application may, however, communicate with a “tiling server”or a “map server,” such that data may be organized and delivered inrelation to a particular geographic area. A tiling server may, e.g.,provide tiles of map information or data for a surrounding area, whichmay comprise information or data that an application may utilize toestimate a current location of mobile device running or executing theapplication. Map tiles may be stored in a cache within an application,comprising a data representation of things or items around the mobiledevice at the current time. If the mobile device is determined to belikely to leave a particular area for which it has enough map data tooperate on its own, the application may retrieve tiles for new areasinto which the mobile device is likely to be moved.

Transmitter 120 may transmit one or more signals. For example,transmitter 120 may transmit one or more signals to first server 110 orsecond server 115. In an embodiment, an observation engine applicationmay be obtained from first server 110, and a developer's application maybe obtained from second server 115. In some embodiments, more or fewerthan two servers may be utilized. Receiver 125 may receive one or moresignals, such as one or more signals received via a communicationsnetwork, from first server 110 or second server 115.

FIG. 2 illustrates a process 200 for an application developer toconfigure or specify circumstances to detect by an SDK of an applicationof a mobile device according to an embodiment. Embodiments in accordancewith claimed subject matter may include all of, less than, or more thanblocks 205-230. Also, the order of blocks 205-230 is merely an exampleorder.

At operation 205, a software developer may add an SDK library to anuncompiled application. At operation 210, a software developer maydefine default circumstances for an SDK to handle, process, or otherwisedetect. Operation 210 may be performed via programming code or across anAPI provisioned, e.g., by a remote server or using a user interface withaccess to the API.

At operation 215, a software developer may associate certaincircumstances to various callback methods. For example, a softwaredeveloper may indicate directives for responding to detection of one ormore specified circumstances. A directive may, for example, indicatethat a callback function is to be invoked upon detection of one or morespecified circumstances. A “callback,” or “callback function,” as usedherein, refers to a piece of executable code that is passed as anargument to other code. For example, a callback may be used to “callback” or invoke execution of an argument at some specified or otherwiseappropriate time. In one example, a callback may invoke a particularfunction. For example, if a specified circumstance is detected whichindicates that a user has exited a concert, a callback may invoke afunction to hail a taxi, such as via a taxi application or ridesharingapplication. A callback may invoke a function within the sameapplication or may initiate execution of a different application, suchas a ridesharing application as discussed above. In another example, ifcertain circumstances are detected, such as those which indicate that auser was at a restaurant three hours ago and has now been at home forthe past 30 minutes, a function may be invoked to prompt the user towrite a review for the restaurant. In another example, if detectedcircumstances indicate that a user has arrived at a particularrestaurant for a dinner reservation, a callback may invoke a function tonotify other parties to the dinner reservation, such as via text messageor by checking the user into the restaurant on a social mediaapplication, so as to indicate that the user has arrived at therestaurant.

Referring again to FIG. 2, a software developer may compile anapplication at operation 220. A compiled application may be uploaded toan app store, server, database, or some other location from which thecompiled application may be downloaded, retrieved, or otherwise accessedby an end user. At operation 225, an end user may download and executeor otherwise run a compiled application. At operation 230, anapplication may download new or updated circumstance definitions or mayuse default circumstances. For example, circumstance definitions may beupdated over time, such as periodically or otherwise, and an applicationmay download new or updated circumstance definitions.

Some circumstances are user-dependent and some are not. For example,some circumstances may be determined based on particular actions of auser, such as whether the user is within a certain location or point ofinterest, or whether the user is performing a particular activity, toname just a couple of examples. Some circumstances are independent of auser, such as certain weather conditions, occurrence of certain news orsporting events, or detection of certain holidays, to name just a fewexamples. Some circumstances may be detected based on informationprovided by an operating system executing program code for anapplication or otherwise running the application. For example, anoperating system may process raw sensor data and make its ownobservations. For example, an operating system may independentlydetermine that the user has stopped somewhere for a sufficiently longtime to be reasonably noticeable, such as where raw sensor datacomprises accelerometer readings taken every 1/10th of a second.Similarly, an operating system may observe that a user's mobile devicehas moved to a different cell tower service area. An observation engineas discussed herein may have access to various types of input, which maybe leveraged to make its own observations.

In another example, an observation engine may pull various types ofinformation or data or properties from an operating system of the mobiledevice. For example, if the mobile device has a weather application, anoperating system may pull or otherwise acquire current or forecastweather conditions, which may be pushed to an observation engine, asdiscussed herein. Similarly, an operating system may determine whether auser has texted or made telephone calls to particular specified number,person, or place or point of interest and may push this information toan observation engine.

An “operating system property,” as used herein refers to data orinformation available from an operating system. For example, one or moresensors of a mobile may accessed through the operating system.Accordingly, an operating system property may include data orinformation which may be accessed via an operating system, includingboth (a) data or information output by the operating system, and (b)data or information accessible via, even if not necessarily output by,the operating system. An operating system property may include, e.g.,information available from or through the operating system, includinginformation from various sensors as well as attributes of the operatingsystem or device such as type, version, memory, or available batterycapacity, to name just a few among many examples.

An example of information or data which may be pushed to an observationengine may include a scenario in which an operating system determinethat a user's mobile device has switched cell towers providing serviceand that this is (Apple's terms) considered a “Significant Change” inaccordance with Apple™'s iPhone Operating System (IOS). For example, anoperating system may notify the observation engine that a change in aservice cell tower has occurred. Such a notification may include a newlocation estimate or coordinates such as latitude and longitude. Theobservation engine may utilize this information or data (and maylikewise request some other information or data) to estimate a currentcircumstance. This process may, for example, comprise a relativelycontinuous feed of events being pushed to the observation engine.

An example of information or data which may be pulled by an observationengine may include a scenario in which the observation engine has beenrunning a timer, and determined that it has not checked to see whetheranything has changed within a particular time period, such as within thelast five minutes. An observation engine may pull or request, from theoperating system, the current latitude/longitude or altitude, to namejust a couple of examples, and may use this information or data toestimate its current circumstance.

Examples of various circumstances and desired responses or actions areshown below in Chart A.

Chart A

Circumstance Desired Response or Action User is in the parking lot of aLet user know about deals big-box store available at that specificbig-box store location User has just left a big-box store Prompt user totake a survey on his or her shopping experience User visits the samecoffee shop Ask if user wants to pre-order a three days in a row coffeefor tomorrow's commute User is in traffic and has deviated Ask if userwants coffee from an from a normal route to work alternative Starbuckshe or she will soon pass User is soon leaving a concert that he Promptto call a ride home or she travelled to by ride shareAs shown in Chart A, various examples of circumstances and desiredresponses or actions include (a) if user is in the parking lot of abig-box store, then let user know about deals available at that specificbig-box store location; (b) if user has just left a big-box store, thenprompt user to take a survey on his or her shopping experience; (c) ifuser visits the same coffee shop three days in a row, then ask if userwants to pre-order a coffee for tomorrow's commute; (d) if user is intraffic and has deviated from a normal route to work, then ask if userwants coffee from an alternative Starbucks he or she will soon pass; and(e) if user is soon leaving a concert that he or she travelled to byride share, then prompt to call a ride home. A developer may choose thecircumstances and desired responses or actions at operation 210 by,e.g., transmitting a message to be received by or uploaded to anobservation engine of an application on the user's mobile device atoperation 215.

FIG. 3 illustrates a mobile device 300 in accordance with an embodiment.As shown, mobile device 300 may execute or run, such as via a processor,a developer's application 310. The developer's application 310 mayinclude an observation engine 305. As discussed previously above, an SDKcomprising observation engine 305 may be appended or otherwise added todeveloper's application 310.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process 400 for an observation engine to monitor amobile device to detect an occurrence of one or more specifiedcircumstances according to an embodiment. Embodiments in accordance withclaimed subject matter may include all of, less than, or more thanblocks 405-425. Also, the order of blocks 405-425 is merely an exampleorder.

At operation 405, sensor output such as measurements or other data, suchas sensors indicative of movement of a mobile device, and operatingsystem properties may be monitored and processed, as previouslydiscussed. Sensor output may include, for example, a reading ormeasurement from an accelerometer or a location estimate such asgeographical coordinates, which may include latitude/longitudecoordinates. Operating system properties may include information pushedfrom an operating system to an observation engine, or pulled by theobservation engine from the operating system, as previously discussedabove. At operation 410, observations may be determined based, at leastin part, on the processed sensor output and the operating systemproperties. At operation 415, a determination may be made as to whetherspecified or defined circumstances have been detected based, at least inpart, on the observations. As discussed above, circumstances may bespecified, defined, or otherwise identified a priori by a softwaredeveloper. If circumstances are not detected at operation 415, thenprocessing returns to operation 405. However, if circumstances aredetected at operation 415, then the detected circumstances may be storedin a log in a memory or other device storage along with a time ofdetection, for example, at operation 420. Information stored in a logmay periodically be transmitted to a server or other device foranalysis, such as by a developer of the application. For example,directives indicative of which particular callbacks or other response toperform at least partially in response to detection of circumstance maybe modified by an application developer based, at least in part, oninformation from a log.

At operation 425, a callback may be initiated to invoke a particularfunction. For example, if a developer has a ridesharing application anddetected circumstances or conditions indicate that a user is leaving anevent and may be ready for a ride home, a callback may be initiated to adeveloper's ridesharing application.

As discussed above, circumstances may be identified or selected by anapplication developer such as by the developer uploading or otherwiseproviding circumstance definitions such as via a string. A string madefor circumstances may comprise an arbitrary identifier, word, tag, orother set of bytes that is defined by a developer when a circumstancesrule is created. A circumstances rule need not be unique, so thatmultiple rules may be strung together to return a uniform result.

As discussed herein, a mobile device or some other type of device mayexecute or run some operating system. Sensor data may be obtained by anobservation engine from the operating system, and the sensor data may beprocessed to determine one or more “observations”. Such observations maybe processed to determine whether a specified circumstance has been metand, if so, this determination may be noted in an historical log, suchas in a memory. In an embodiment, there may be a minimum reason to alerta user, such as if the user is determined to have certainlatitude/longitude geographical coordinates which correspond to aparticular place or point of interest, such as a particular Starbucks™.

In an embodiment, a service may be provided in which a hostingapplication may query to determine whether a user of a mobile device hasfulfilled a specified circumstance or set of circumstances, for example.

Tables B-F, as shown below, illustrate various information forcircumstances, such as category, title or name, and definitions for thecircumstances.

Table B illustrates circumstances based on a user's activity. As shownbelow, “Arrived” may indicate that a user is at a particular place.“Departed” may indicate that a user has left a particular place. “Likelyarriving soon” may indicate that it is predicted that user will bearriving at a place “soon,” where this prediction may be based on speed,start time for a known event, and that a user is at a particular place.“Likely departing soon” may indicate that it is predicted that user willbe leaving a place “soon,” where this prediction may be based on itemssuch as average dwell time, speed, and closing hours. “Near” may requirea tuning parameter such as “walkable”, “drivable”, or 400 m. “Likelypassing soon” may be based on speed, direction, and known path.“Deviating from common route” may represent a deviation from a user'sregular commuting path, based on speed, and direction.

TABLE B Category Title/name Definition Activity Arrived User is at aplace Departed User has left a place Likely It is predicted that userwill be arriving at a arriving soon place “soon”. Prediction may bebased on speed, start time for a known event, etc. Likely It ispredicted that user will be leaving at a departing soon place “soon”.Prediction may be based on average dwell time, speed, closing hours,etc. Near May require a tuning parameter like “walkable”, “drivable”,400 m, etc. Likely May be based on speed, direction, and Passing Soonknown path Deviating from If tracking things such as user's regularcommon route commuting path, this would represent a deviation from thatpath.

Table C illustrates circumstances based on a user's location. As shownbelow, “Specific POI” may indicate that a user is at a particular placebased on an ID. “POI by category” may indicate that a user in in a placeidentified by a category. “Chain POI” may indicate that is place isidentified by a particular chain ID. “In common AOA” may indicate that auser is at a place determined based on information from a source ofinformation about a device user (hereinafter, “Audience Source”), suchas, e.g., a server, memory, or database which may store informationabout a known or predicted audience of a particular user. “Home” mayindicated that a user is at a location determined based on informationfrom Audience Source. “Work” may indicated that a user is at a locationdetermined based on information from Audience Source.

TABLE C Category Title/name Definition Location Specific POI Placeverified by ID POI by category Place identified by a category Chain POIPlace identified by verified chain ID In Common AOA Based on informationfrom Audience Source Home Based on information from Audience Source WorkBased on information from Audience Source

Table D illustrates circumstances based on location conditions(potentially overlapping conditions present). As shown below, “Is (not)open now” may indicate that a place or point of interest, such as abusiness or venue, is not open and may be determined from an operatinghours flag from a source of information about or places or points ofinterest (hereinafter, “Places of Interest Source”), such as, e.g., aserver, memory, or database which may store information about a known orpredicted information about a location, such as a venue or structure.“Is currently hosting an event” may indicate that a place or point ofinterest is currently hosting an event, such as a concert or meeting,for example, and may be determined from a source of information aboutevents (hereinafter, “Event Source”), such as, e.g., a server, memory,or database which may store information about a known or predictedinformation about an event. “Is currently hosting an event of aspecified category” may indicate whether a place or point of interest iscurrently hosting an event, such as a private party, for example, andmay be determined from information from information from Event Source.“Any place condition (e.g., rating, placerank, cost, etc.)” may indicatea presence of a particular rating, such as a 5-star rating for arestaurant or place of interest, for example, and may be determined frominformation from a Places of Interest Source.

TABLE D Category Title/name Definition Location Is (not) open now Usingoperating hours flag from conditions Places of Interest Source(potentially Is currently hosting an From information overlapping eventfrom Event Source conditions Is currently hosting an From informationpresent) event of a specified from Event Source category Any placecondition From information from Places (e.g., rating, of Interest Sourceplacerank, cost, etc.)

Table E illustrates circumstances based on mobility conditions (this maycomprise an array of potentially overlapped conditions). As shown below,“Walking” may be determined based on sensor measurements from a mobiledevice of a user. Sensor measurements may, e.g., include measurementswhich may indicate movement, such as measurements from an accelerometeror gyroscope or location estimates for a mobile device and/or a user ofthe mobile device or some other device, such as Global PositioningSystem (GPS) coordinates. “In car” may be determined based on sensormeasurements. “Flying” may be determined based on sensor measurements.“On bus” may be determined based on sensor measurements. “Onsubway/train” may be determined based on sensor measurements. “On bike”may be determined based on sensor measurements. “In traffic” may bedetermined based on sensor measurements such as location estimates oraccelerometer data for a mobile device indicating movement in fits andspurts. “Stopped” may be determined based on sensor measurements such aslocation estimates or accelerometer data. “Running” may be determinedbased on sensor measurements. “In elevator” may be determined based onsensor measurements. “Meandering” may be determined based ondirectionless walking in fits and spurts that resembles retail shopping.

TABLE E Category Title/name Definition Mobility Walking Based on sensormeasurements conditions In car Based on sensor measurements (this is anFlying Based on sensor measurements array of On bus Based on sensormeasurements potentially On subway/train Based on sensor measurementsoverlapped On bike Based on sensor measurements conditions) In trafficIn car, moving in fits and spurts Stopped Not moving Running Based onsensor measurements In elevator Based on sensor measurements MeanderingDirectionless walking in fits and spurts that resembles retail shopping.

Table F illustrates circumstances based on temporal conditions (array ofpotential overlaps). As shown below, “Date/time range” may mean that thetime is within a specified stated/end date and/or time. “Recurring dayof week” may mean that the day is a specified day of the week, such as“Wednesday.” “Recurring day of month” may mean that the day is aspecified day of the month, such as “1^(st) of every month.” “Recurringday of day” may mean that the time of day is a specified time of day,such as “13:00.” “Rush hour” may mean that the time of day is within acertain loose estimate, such as 7-9 AM or 4-6 PM. “Daylight” may meanthat there is daylight and may be determined based on local informationbased on latitude/longitude coordinates. “Exceeds specified dwell time”may mean that the user has been in same location for greater than a timethreshold.

TABLE F Category Title/name Definition Temporal Date/time range Betweena specified stated/end date and conditions time (array of Recurring dayof E.g., “Wednesdays” potential week overlaps) Recurring day of E.g.,“1^(st) of every month” month Recurring time of E.g., “13:00” day Rushhour Loose estimate, e.g., 7-9AM, 4-6PM Daylight Based on local. Plentyof libraries for determining based on lat/long coordinates Exceedsspecified e.g., user has been in same location for dwell time greaterthan a time threshold

An observation engine of an application may monitor or maintain acurrent or running log of activities, visitations, and overallcircumstances and corresponding times of day at which the circumstancesare observed.

As discussed above, a circumstance may indicate that a user is near,arrives at, or departs from a specified place or event. Places mayinclude specific places (e.g., Madison Square Garden, LAX); Categoriesof places (e.g., all Starbucks, sports bars, shopping malls); Relativeto the user (e.g., home, work, commonly visited places); or Placeshosting events (e.g., CES, Lakers games, concerts), to name just a fewexamples. A circumstance may also indicate that a user has changedactivity, such as being on foot, meandering, in a car, on a plane, on atrain, on a bus, on a bike, or in traffic, to name just a few examples.

An observation engine may observe various combinations of the above,such as (a) in a car AND departing from work; (b) driving OR on a busAND in traffic; or (c) is NOT at home, for example.

An observation engine may use machine learning to process a wide varietyof signals and interpret where users are and what they are doing in themost meaningful way. As an observation engine processes more informationor data, a model may continue to improve. If a geo-coordinate indicatesthat a user is at a bar, an observation engine may interpret that theuser will soon be leaving the bar and is likely looking for a cab.

An observation engine may have a relatively tight integration with amobile device so that signals may be acquired or gather in an efficientmanner. A client-side machine learning engine may assess a location. Anobservation engine may utilize accelerometer activity detection.Over-the-air updates to an observation engine may assist in powermanagement, privacy configuration, and machine-learning models.

If a circumstance is met or detected, a developer's application may benotified with a call back. Such a call back may include a stringidentifying a detected circumstance, as well as an object containing allof the various information or meta-data (e.g., the activity, location,etc.) and a time at which the circumstance was detected (such as anepoch time, or seconds or time since startup, for example).

A goal of an application developer may be to use OTA updates to switchbetween strategies for detection. An OTA system may contain aconfiguration comprising: (a) tuning around collection of information(how often to poll, what kind of location services to use, what otherservices to poll, etc.); (b) tuning around privacy (what should andshouldn't be collected, or when a do-not-track flag is to be applied todata that is collected.); (c) Configuration information or data forsensor measurements indicative of certain types of movements oractivities; (d) Configuration information or data for aplace-attachment; and/or (e) Configuration information or data forcircumstance rules engine.

An observation engine may have a default configuration bundled with itwhen deployed to an app. This default configuration may be defined by adeveloper. A default configuration may comprise a blanket configuration,such as tuned for an application and an operating system.

If a developer's application is initiated or otherwise starts executingor running for the first time on a mobile device, the developer'sapplication may request configuration information such as aconfiguration file via a configuration API. A configuration API requestmay provide certain parameters such as an Operating System (OS), OSversion number, cellular carrier name and country code, user Identifier(Id), locality, language, and API key. A web service may, for example,return or otherwise provide an appropriate configuration object, such asacquired from a database or server. On subsequent startups, a developerapplication may determine whether it has been more than a certain amountof time, such as 24 hours, since the previous configuration object wasreceived. If so, a developer's application may check to see if a newerconfiguration is available and, if so, get it.

A persistent device ID may be utilized to for database requests forinformation such as information relating to an audience database. ThisID may be used to tie together requests so that long-term trends may beobserved to help improve a quality of an observation engine.

Some portions of the detailed description are presented herein in termsof algorithms or symbolic representations of operations on binarydigital signals stored within a memory of a specific apparatus orspecial purpose computing device or platform. In the context of thisparticular specification, the term specific apparatus or the likeincludes a general purpose computer once it is programmed to performparticular functions pursuant to instructions from program software.Algorithmic descriptions or symbolic representations are examples oftechniques used by those of ordinary skill in the signal processing orrelated arts to convey the substance of their work to others skilled inthe art. An algorithm is here, and generally, considered to be aself-consistent sequence of operations or similar signal processingleading to a desired result. In this context, operations or processinginvolve physical manipulation of physical quantities. Typically,although not necessarily, such quantities may take the form ofelectrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred,combined, compared or otherwise manipulated.

It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of commonusage, to refer to such signals as bits, data, values, elements,symbols, characters, terms, numbers, numerals or the like. It should beunderstood, however, that all of these or similar terms are to beassociated with appropriate physical quantities and are merelyconvenient labels. Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparentfrom the following discussion, it is appreciated that throughout thisspecification discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,”“computing,” “calculating,” “determining” or the like refer to actionsor processes of a specific apparatus, such as a special purpose computeror a similar special purpose electronic computing device. In the contextof this specification, therefore, a special purpose computer or asimilar special purpose electronic computing device is capable ofmanipulating or transforming signals, typically represented as physicalelectronic or magnetic quantities within memories, registers, or otherinformation storage devices, transmission devices, or display devices ofthe special purpose computer or similar special purpose electroniccomputing device.

It should be understood that for ease of description, a network device(also referred to as a networking device) may be embodied and/ordescribed in terms of a computing device. However, it should further beunderstood that this description should in no way be construed thatclaimed subject matter is limited to one embodiment, such as a computingdevice and/or a network device, and, instead, may be embodied as avariety of devices or combinations thereof, including, for example, oneor more illustrative examples.

Likewise, in this context, the terms “coupled”, “connected,” and/orsimilar terms are used generically. It should be understood that theseterms are not intended as synonyms. Rather, “connected” is usedgenerically to indicate that two or more components, for example, are indirect physical, including electrical, contact; while, “coupled” is usedgenerically to mean that two or more components are potentially indirect physical, including electrical, contact; however, “coupled” isalso used generically to also mean that two or more components are notnecessarily in direct contact, but nonetheless are able to co-operateand/or interact. The term coupled is also understood generically to meanindirectly connected, for example, in an appropriate context.

The terms, “and”, “or”, “and/or” and/or similar terms, as used herein,include a variety of meanings that also are expected to depend at leastin part upon the particular context in which such terms are used.Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B or C, isintended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as wellas A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term“one or more” and/or similar terms is used to describe any feature,structure, and/or characteristic in the singular and/or is also used todescribe a plurality and/or some other combination of features,structures and/or characteristics. Likewise, the term “based on” and/orsimilar terms are understood as not necessarily intending to convey anexclusive set of factors, but to allow for existence of additionalfactors not necessarily expressly described. Of course, for all of theforegoing, particular context of description and/or usage provideshelpful guidance regarding inferences to be drawn. It should be notedthat the following description merely provides one or more illustrativeexamples and claimed subject matter is not limited to these one or moreillustrative examples; however, again, particular context of descriptionand/or usage provides helpful guidance regarding inferences to be drawn.

A network may also include now known, and/or to be later developedarrangements, derivatives, and/or improvements, including, for example,past, present and/or future mass storage, such as network attachedstorage (NAS), a storage area network (SAN), and/or other forms ofcomputing and/or device readable media, for example. A network mayinclude a portion of the Internet, one or more local area networks(LANs), one or more wide area networks (WANs), wire-line typeconnections, wireless type connections, other connections, or anycombination thereof. Thus, a network may be worldwide in scope and/orextent. Likewise, sub-networks, such as may employ differingarchitectures and/or may be substantially compliant and/or substantiallycompatible with differing protocols, such as computing and/orcommunication protocols (e.g., network protocols), may interoperatewithin a larger network. In this context, the term sub-network and/orsimilar terms, if used, for example, with respect to a network, refersto the network and/or a part thereof. Sub-networks may also compriselinks, such as physical links, connecting and/or coupling nodes, such asto be capable to transmit signal packets and/or frames between devicesof particular nodes, including wired links, wireless links, orcombinations thereof. Various types of devices, such as network devicesand/or computing devices, may be made available so that deviceinteroperability is enabled and/or, in at least some instances, may betransparent to the devices. In this context, the term transparent refersto devices, such as network devices and/or computing devices,communicating via a network in which the devices are able to communicatevia intermediate devices of a node, but without the communicatingdevices necessarily specifying one or more intermediate devices of oneor more nodes and/or may include communicating as if intermediatedevices of intermediate nodes are not necessarily involved incommunication transmissions. For example, a router may provide a linkand/or connection between otherwise separate and/or independent LANs. Inthis context, a private network refers to a particular, limited set ofnetwork devices able to communicate with other network devices in theparticular, limited set, such as via signal packet and/or frametransmissions, for example, without a need for re-routing and/orredirecting transmissions. A private network may comprise a stand-alonenetwork; however, a private network may also comprise a subset of alarger network, such as, for example, without limitation, all or aportion of the Internet. Thus, for example, a private network “in thecloud” may refer to a private network that comprises a subset of theInternet, for example. Although signal packet and/or frame transmissionsmay employ intermediate devices of intermediate nodes to exchange signalpacket and/or frame transmissions, those intermediate devices may notnecessarily be included in the private network by not being a source ordestination for one or more signal packet and/or frame transmissions,for example. It is understood in this context that a private network mayprovide outgoing network communications to devices not in the privatenetwork, but devices outside the private network may not necessarily beable to direct inbound network communications to devices included in theprivate network.

As used herein, the term “advertisement” and/or similar terms is meantto refer to signals and/or states in a physical format, such as adigital signal and/or digital state format, e.g., that may be perceivedby a user if displayed, played and/or otherwise executed by a device,such as a digital device, including, for example, a computing device,but otherwise might not necessarily be perceivable by humans (e.g., in adigital format). Also, for one or more embodiments, components maycomprise a graphical object, such as, for example, an image, such as adigital image, and/or sub-objects, such as attributes thereof, which,again, comprise physical signals and/or physical states (e.g., capableof being physically displayed). In an embodiment, content may comprise,for example, text, images, audio, video, and/or other types ofelectronic documents and/or portions thereof, for example.

While certain exemplary techniques have been described and shown hereinusing various methods and systems, it should be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various other modifications may be made, andequivalents may be substituted, without departing from claimed subjectmatter. Additionally, many modifications may be made to adapt aparticular situation to the teachings of claimed subject matter withoutdeparting from the central concept described herein. Therefore, it isintended that claimed subject matter not be limited to the particularexamples disclosed, but that such claimed subject matter may alsoinclude all implementations falling within the scope of the appendedclaims, and equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: processing, by one or more processors of a mobile device, at least one of: sensor output from one or more sensors and at least one operating system property of an operating system of the mobile device; determining, by the one or more processors, one or more observations from the at least one of the sensor output and the at least one operating system property; determining, by the one or more processors, whether one or more specified circumstances are detected within the one or more observations, the one or more specified circumstances comprising a prediction of a future user activity based on the one or more observations; and generating, by the one or more processors, one or more binary digital signals to indicate that an application is to invoke a specified function of the mobile device, at least partially in response to detection of the one or more specified circumstances, wherein the one or more specified circumstances comprises an activity, location, one or more location conditions, one or more mobility conditions, or one or more temporal conditions.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from an application developer, a set of one or more specified circumstances.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the application comprises a software development kit comprising an observation engine.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the at least one operating system property is pushed from the operating system to the observation engine or pulled by the observation engine from the operating system.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor output comprises an accelerometer measurement or estimated geographical coordinates.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving an Over the Air message to update parameters or directives of the one or more specified circumstances to be detected.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether a user of the mobile device has fulfilled a specified circumstance or set of circumstances in response to a query from the application.
 8. A mobile device, comprising: a receiver to receive one or more electronic signals from an electronic communication network; a memory to store state information comprising one or more electronic signals; and a processor to: process at least one of: sensor output from one or more sensors and at least one operating system property of an operating system of the mobile device; determine one or more observations from the at least one of the sensor output and the at least one operating system property; determine whether one or more specified circumstances are detected within the one or more observations, the one or more specified circumstances comprising a prediction of a future user activity based on the one or more observations; and generate one or more binary digital signals to indicate that an application is to invoke a specified function, of the mobile device, at least partially in response to detection of the one or more specified circumstances, wherein the one or more specified circumstances comprises an activity, location, one or more location conditions, one or more mobility conditions, or one or more temporal conditions.
 9. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the processor is to process a set of one or more specified circumstances received from an application developer.
 10. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the application comprises a software development kit comprising an observation engine.
 11. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the at least one operating system property is pushed from the operating system to the observation engine or pulled by the observation engine from the operating system.
 12. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the at least one sensor output comprises an accelerometer measurement or estimated geographical coordinates.
 13. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the processor is to further process a received Over the Air message to update parameters or directives of the one or more specified circumstances to be detected.
 14. The mobile device of claim 8, wherein the processor is to further determine whether a user of the mobile device has fulfilled a specified circumstance or set of circumstances in response to a query from the application.
 15. An article, comprising: a non-transitory storage medium comprising machine-readable instructions executable by a special purpose computing apparatus to: process at least one of: sensor output from one or more sensors and at least one operating system property of an operating system of the mobile device; determine one or more observations from the at least one of the sensor output and the at least one operating system property; determine whether one or more specified circumstances are detected within the one or more observations, the one or more specified circumstances comprising a prediction of a future user activity based on the one or more observations; and generate one or more binary digital signals to indicate that an application is to invoke a specified function, of the mobile device, at least partially in response to detection of the one or more specified circumstances, wherein the one or more specified circumstances comprises an activity, location, one or more location conditions, one or more mobility conditions, or one or more temporal conditions.
 16. The article of claim 15, wherein the machine-readable instructions are further executable by the special purpose computing apparatus to process a set of one or more specified circumstances received from an application developer.
 17. The article of claim 15, wherein the application comprises a software development kit comprising an observation engine.
 18. The article of claim 15, wherein the at least one sensor output comprises an accelerometer measurement or estimated geographical coordinates.
 19. The article of claim 15, wherein the machine-readable instructions are further executable by the special purpose computing apparatus to process a received Over the Air message to update parameters or directives of the one or more specified circumstances to be detected.
 20. The article of claim 15, further comprising determining whether a user of the mobile device has fulfilled a specified circumstance or set of circumstances in response to a query from the application. 